Hawks vs. Bulls Pick
Are the Chicago Bulls going to cover the small spread at home Thursday night against the Atlanta Hawks? Tip-off is at 8PM EST.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Bulls are a 3-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under sits at 200 points.
Atlanta comes in with a 1-3 record after a 104-93 loss at Miami earlier this week. Chicago is 0-3 following a 119-112 loss at the Cavaliers. The Hawks won three of four games straight up last season and covered the spread all four times. The total went over three times.
In Atlanta’s loss at Miami, Taurean Prince led the way with 20 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. He also had seven turnovers. Kent Bazemore also scored 20 to go with four rebounds, four assists and two steals. John Collins added 14 points and 11 boards off the bench. The Hawks were outscored 62-44 in the first half.
Justin Holiday put in 25 points and pulled down four rebounds for Chicago in the loss to the Cavs. Lauri Markkanen had 19 points and eight rebounds. Jerian Grant contributed 12 points and 10 assists. Robin Lopez and Paul Zipser both scored 11. Chicago was outscored 28-20 in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings. The under is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings in Chicago.
The Hawks are without point guard Dennis Schroder, who suffered an ankle injury Sunday. He’s replaced in the starting lineup by Malcolm Delaney, whp doesn’t his team nearly the scoring or playmaking abilities that Schroder does. Basically, Atlanta is a team that will struggle to string together wins all season and without their starting point guard it only becomes that much more difficult. While Chicago has its own lengthy set of problems, this is a team it can handle. Look for the Bulls to cover and get their first win of the season.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: CHICAGO BULLS -3